The vertebrate spine is the axis of the skeleton on which a substantial portion of the weight of the body is supported. In humans, the normal spine has seven cervical, twelve thoracic and five lumbar segments. The lumbar spine sits upon the sacrum, which then attaches to the pelvis, and in turn is supported by the hip and leg bones. The bony vertebral bodies of the spine are separated by intervertebral discs, which act as joints but allow known degrees of flexion, extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation.
The typical vertebra has a thick anterior bone mass called the vertebral body, with a neural (vertebral) arch that arises from the posterior surface of the vertebral body. The centra of adjacent vertebrae are supported by intervertebral discs. Each neural arch combines with the posterior surface of the vertebral body and encloses a vertebral foramen. The vertebral forming of adjacent vertebrae are aligned to form a vertebral canal, through which the spinal sac, cord and nerve rootlets pass. The portion of the neural arch which extends posteriorly and acts to protect the spinal cord's posterior side is known as the lamina. Projecting from the posterior region of the neural arch is the spinous process.
The intervertebral disc primarily serves as a mechanical cushion permitting controlled motion between vertebral segments of the axial skeleton. The normal disc is a unique, mixed structure, comprised of three component tissues: the nucleus pulpous (“nucleus”), the anulus fibrosus (“anulus”) and two vertebral end plates. The two vertebral end plates are composed of thin cartilage overlying a thin layer of hard, cortical bone which attaches to the spongy, richly vascular, cancellous bone of the vertebral body. The end plates thus act to attach adjacent vertebrae to the disc. In other words, a transitional zone is created by the end plates between the malleable disc and the bony vertebrae.
The anulus of the disc is a tough, outer fibrous ring which binds together adjacent vertebrae. The fibrous portion, which is much like a laminated automobile tire, measures about 10 to 15 millimeters in height and about 15 to 20 millimeters in thickness. The fibers of the anulus consist of fifteen to twenty overlapping multiple plies, and are inserted into the superior and inferior vertebral bodies at roughly a 40 degree angle in both directions. This configuration particularly resists torsion, as about half of the angulated fibers will tighten when the vertebrae rotates in either direction, relative to each other. The laminated plies are less firmly attached to each other.
Immersed within the anulus is the nucleus. The healthy nucleus is largely a gel-like substance having high water content, and like air in a tire, serves to keep the anulus tight yet flexible. The nucleus-gel moves slightly within the anulus when force is exerted on the adjacent vertebrae while bending, lifting, and other motions.
The spinal disc may be displaced or damaged due to trauma, disease, degenerative defects, or wear over an extended period of time. A disc herniation occurs when the anulus fibers are weakened or torn and the inner tissue of the nucleus becomes permanently bulged, distended, or extruded out of its normal, internal anulus confines. The mass of a herniated or “slipped” nucleus tissue can compress a spinal nerve, resulting in leg pain, loss of muscle control, or even paralysis. Alternatively, with discal degeneration, the nucleus loses its water binding ability and deflates, as though the air had been let out of a tire. Subsequently, the height of the nucleus decreases causing the anulus to buckle in areas where the laminated plies are loosely bonded. As these overlapping laminated plies of the anulus begin to buckle and separate, either circumferential or radial annular tears may occur, which may contribute to persistent or disabling back pain. Adjacent, ancillary spinal facet joints will also be forced into an overriding position, which may create additional back pain.
Whenever the nucleus tissue is herniated or removed by surgery, the disc space will narrow and may lose much of its normal stability. In many cases, to alleviate back pain from degenerated or herniated discs, the nucleus is removed and the two adjacent vertebrae are surgically fused together. While this treatment alleviates the pain, all discal motion is lost in the fused segment. Ultimately this procedure places a greater stress on the discs adjacent to the fused segment as they compensate for lack of motion, perhaps leading to premature degeneration of those adjacent discs.
As an alternative to vertebral fusion, various prosthetic discs have been developed. The first prosthetics embody a wide variety of ideas, such as ball bearings, springs, metal spikes and other perceived aids. These prosthetics are all made to replace the entire intervertebral disc space and are large and rigid. Beyond the questionable applicability of the devices is the inherent difficulties encountered during implantation. Due to their size and inflexibility, these devices require an anterior implantation approach as the barriers presented by the lamina and, more importantly, the spinal cord and nerve rootlets during posterior or posterior lateral implantation is difficult to avoid.
Anterior implantation, however, can involve numerous risks during surgery. Various organs present physical obstacles as the surgeon attempts to access the damaged disc area from the front of the patient. After an incision into the patient's abdomen, the surgeon is forced to navigate around interfering organs and carefully move them aside in order to gain access to the spine. One risk to the patient from an anterior approach is that these organs may be inadvertently damaged during the procedure.
In contrast, a posterior approach to intervertebral disc implantation avoids the risks of damaging body organs. Despite this advantage, a posterior approach also raises other difficulties that have discouraged it use. For instance, a posterior approach can introduce a risk of damaging the spinal cord. Additionally, vertebral body geometry allows only limited access to the intervertebral discs. Thus, the key to successful posterior or posterior lateral implantation is avoiding contact with the spinal cord, as well as being able to place an implant through a limited special area due to the shape of the vertebral bones. Because an anterior approach does not present the space limitations that occur with a posterior approach, current prosthetic disc designs are too bulky to safely use with a posterior approach. Therefore, a substantial need exists for a method of surgically implanting a prosthetic spinal disc into the intervertebral disc space through a posterior approach with minimal contact with the spinal cord.